The red Clone Trooper was originally supposed to be all white. The deco change was a little last-minute, and there will be several Clones in the future for all of us figure fans out there. The first new one is a Yellow Clone Trooper Pilot. It comes with a Gun Pod that's actually missing from the upcoming Republic Gunship toy, and it snaps right on the finished toy. If you buy two pilots, you've got your vehicle fully armed and ready to fly. Next, there's a Deluxe Clone Trooper that will come with some sort of Swoop/Speeder Bike vehicle.

More news on other figures here,

http://collectibles.echostation.com/yakfeatures/020507a/index.htm

sith_killer_99

05-07-2002, 10:37 PM

Cinema Scene returns!!!

The first being considered is a Jedi Council set!!!!!

Has Hasbro been listening? It sure would seem so! Well, 2003 will tell!

Looks like a few good things are in the works!:D

JEDIpartner

05-07-2002, 10:41 PM

Hasbro's making the Jedi Council??? No flippin' way!!! That is way too cool for words! So... uh-- COOL!

Beast

05-07-2002, 10:44 PM

Good Lords, that website is sucktaculerly slow. Won't load at all for me, someone wanna please post the info from there for me? Thanks for the heads up Battle Droid, sounds like some pretty intresting news over there. Now if I could only get it to load. :(

MTFBWY and HH!!

Jar Jar Binks

Battle Droid

05-07-2002, 10:47 PM

Hasbro: News for 2002 and Beyond

While Hasbro had much to show at its giant booth at Celebration II, they didn't have much to say at the Q&A sessions or at the various booths... but a lot was revealed to this roving reporter. From new Clone Troopers to a treasure of news on running changes and other trivia, figure fans are in for a treat with this, the very first update in our Celebration II coverage.
Please note if no release date is given, we do not have this information at the present. Also, as these items are still in development, there are no photographs for this story. Future Celebration II stories will have a full compliment of photography.

Also please note that we talk about features of the action figures released thus far-- if you consider the fact that some figures have arms that get sliced off a major spoiler, don't read this update.

Clone Troopers Present and Future
The red Clone Trooper was originally supposed to be all white. The deco change was a little last-minute, and there will be several Clones in the future for all of us figure fans out there. The first new one is a yellow Clone Trooper Pilot. It comes with a Gun Pod that's actually missing from the upcoming Republic Gunship toy, and it snaps right on the finished toy. If you buy two pilots, you've got your vehicle fully armed and ready to fly. Next, there's a Deluxe Clone Trooper that will come with some sort of Swoop/Speeder Bike vehicle.
For the uninitiated, Hasbro has actually started to go out of its way to put extras for vehicles with the figures, and vice-versa. The new Slave I comes with a hole in its cockpit for Jango/Boba's rocket pack, so it hangs up on the back wall. Also, the Jedi Starfighter has a small hole for a radar dish to be placed, and this little extra will be packaged with the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi (Starfighter Pilot)

Variant Heads, Redeco Droids, and POTJ Figures Returning to Saga
Looks like fans are going to be in for many a variation, and they all sound pretty nifty this time around. First, the newly released Endor Rebel Soldier will come with one of two heads. The current incarnation has a bearded visage modeled after legendary Kenner/Hasbro toymaker Mark Boudreaux, whose name you might recognize from Stephen Sansweet's killer Star Wars: From Concept To Screen To Collectible book. The second head's origin is unknown, but it will make up 50% of the figure's entire run. According to Hasbro reps at the show, as soon as they reach the 50% mark, they switch heads. So look for that in future assortments. For the curious, both versions of the figure have a removable helmet.
The Battle Droid (Arena Battle) definitely has a red version on the way-- apparently the character is red in the film, and Hasbro called the factory to make a running change as soon as they found out. Expect to see this one relatively soon. Production numbers are unknown, as are percentages.

The Magnets have been a bit of an issue so far. Aside from weak magnets in figures' hands not doing much good as far as play value is concerned, some are downright weak, like Anakin Skywalker: Hangar Duel. In the future, Hasbro is considering fusing the arm together so it doesn't come off due to kids thinking it might be broken. Currently, Zam Wessel has one of the stronger magnets that will most likely be used for future magnet figures-- and hers works amazingly well.

The variant heads of the Imperial Officer and Rebel Trooper have been designed, but with the demise of Power of the Jedi, their fate is still undetermined. Hasbro is considering releasing these and perhaps a few other harder-to-find POTJ figures on the current blue Saga cards by year's end to satiate fans who missed figures like FX-7 and army builders interested in new versions of the existing army builders.

The backgrounds were an early part of the Saga packaging and have since been dropped. Apparently, while designers love them, they tend to curl up in the packaging and look a little funny. Rather than reworking them, they've been dropped. Other than the first 16 figures, they also appear with Jorg Sacul. So that's the end of the backgrounds, folks.

Cinema Scenes are likely to make a return in 2003, in the blue Saga packaging. One being considered is a Jedi Council set.

C-3PO (Protocol Droid, #0204) apparently doesn't appear in the new movie in his toy form-- a sequence with his panels being added has been allegedly cut. C-3PO now joins Floppy Hat Luke and Episode I R2-D2 in the Cut Footage Figure list.

Assortments, Rare Figures
Complaints of Count Dooku and Yoda being tough to find in some regions have reached Hasbro and they now plan on shipping these figures for a longer period of time. These figures are still shipping, so they're still not rare by any means of the word, and since more are coming, they won't be rare, ever.
As for Power of the Jedi figures from the end of the line like BoShek and Teebo, Hasbro is considering many of them for Quarter 3 or Quarter 4 releases in the Saga line. Time will tell.

Exclusives
Apparently the various lists we've been reading are only the tip of the iceberg-- other products are also up for consideration. While Hasbro would neither confirm nor deny the possibility of a Cloud Car for 2002, one has been on the backburner for a future release for some time now. Word has it-- unofficial word-- that it's been in preproduction for at least two years.
The Star Wars Fan Club has been shipped its Imperial Stormtrooper Army Builder Set and it's likely to go on sale any day now. $19.99 for non-members, $17.99 for members. It includes 4 figures (the CommTech version without the damage blast mark), 2 rifles, and 2 pistols. A Rebel Trooper version is said to be in the works for year's end.

FAO's Imperial Shuttle has not been officially granted as an exclusive yet. While $125 is a likely price point and December seems to be when it would come out, the quantity of the item has yet to be determined, mainly because FAO does not officially have this item just yet.

While completely mum on Wal-Mart's Night Club Alien Packs, we did get a little-- very little-- info on the Cantina packs. The figures will consist of both new and old tooling, meaning that you will recognize at least some parts of Momaw Nadon (Hammerhead), Greedo, and/or Ponda Baba (Walrus Man) . The one new figure, Kitik Keed'kak, should be all new. Each of the four figures should come with one of three sections of a Cantina playset, and the completed diorama will be smaller than the previously released paperboard Cantina from 1997.

Other New Figures
In addition to Aayla Secura, a blue skinned Twi'lek Jedi female from Attack of the Clones and some of the Dark Horse comics, there's a new R2-D2 with Booster Rockets. This time, they come out of his arms, like in the movie.
Aayla was shown with concept art-- she may have a base and joints that allow her to kick. She will also be given a "new" magnet that is expected to be significantly stronger than the current releases.

Of course, there's the new Fan's Choice poll, which went up and is going on through May 17. The first choice this time is Nym, a blue alien starship pilot seen in the Starfighter comics and games and at least one issue of Dark Horse Comics' Tales series. Next, there's Ralph McQuarrie's Stormtrooper design, which is fairly nifty and hopefully will pave the way for his early designs of Darth Vader and C-3PO. The Imperial Dignitary is next and expected to be the winner as fans have been clamoring for one for some time now. There's also a Rebel Soldier in Scout Trooper Disguise, which Hasbro said would not come with a removable helmet if produced. Lastly, there's fan fave General Rieekan, the commander at Hoth.

Select one of five excellent choices at starwars.hasbro.com.

While the Force/Blast Effects seem lacking in some current figures, more are on the way-- these should be a part of the line for quite some time.

Also, don't expect to see the Tonnika Sisters. Ever.

Other, Booth, etc.
Information on the booth, the poster, Jorg Sacul and more will be posted in a future update.

Beast

05-07-2002, 10:56 PM

Originally posted by Battle Droid
There's also a Rebel Soldier in Scout Trooper Disguise, which Hasbro said would not come with a removable helmet if produced.
Thanks for the news Battle Droid, but this stood out like a sore thumb. Why even bother to offer him, if he wasn't going to have a removable helmet. That's the whole point of the darn figure! That's just stupid. Glad he has no chance of winning. :(

MTFBWY and HH!!

Jar Jar Binks

Wolfwood319

05-07-2002, 11:04 PM

Also, don't expect to see the Tonnika Sisters. Ever.

:frus: :frus: :frus: :frus: :frus: :frus:

This stood out even more so than the Rebel in Scout Trooper disguise.

Battle Droid

05-07-2002, 11:05 PM

No prob Jar Jar. :D

About the Rebel Soldier

Me too now, unless they planned to make interchangeble heads, though it'd be easier to make the helmet removable, though it not coming with anything would be stupid!

Lord Tenebrous

05-07-2002, 11:18 PM

The Tonnika thing isn't a big surprise, the actresses won't sign their likeness, so there's not going to be a figure.

The Rebel Biker Scout choice is stupid now, what were they going to do if it won, re-release the POTJ Scout Trooper? They made an EU Luke in Elite ST disguise, but they can't follow through with an actual movie figure? :frus:

And the clone stuff...that makes me a little mad. Packaging vehicle parts with a figure, especially something as relevant as the gun pods, is unexcusable. We're paying good money for the vehicles...get them right the first time, got it?

And they're going to reuse the Speeder Bike mold for the clone trooper bike. I know it. :(

Hasbro, you kill me. :dead:

Beast

05-07-2002, 11:28 PM

Originally posted by Lord Tenebrous
The Tonnika thing isn't a big surprise, the actresses won't sign their likeness, so there's not going to be a figure.
The Rebel Biker Scout choice is stupid now, what were they going to do if it won, re-release the POTJ Scout Trooper? They made an EU Luke in Elite ST disguise, but they can't follow through with an actual movie figure? :frus:
And the clone stuff...that makes me a little mad. Packaging vehicle parts with a figure, especially something as relevant as the gun pods, is unexcusable. We're paying good money for the vehicles...get them right the first time, got it?
And they're going to reuse the Speeder Bike mold for the clone trooper bike. I know it. :(
Hasbro, you kill me. :dead:
I guess either Hasbro is going to do interchangable heads, or they are just gonna sculpt him with his helmet off. Either way, lame figure if it doesn't have a removable helmet. Again, like I said before...so glad he doesn't have a snowballs chance on Tatooine. :(

I don't mind seeing them packing the gun pods in with the Yellow CloneTroopers. The Rebublic Gunship has 2 pilot spaces, so if you wanted to get pilots for it, you would need 2 of them anyway. :)

From what I heard about the CloneTrooper w/ Speeder Bike is that it would be a new mold, or atleast retooled from the old one. So that will be good. Hopefully the CloneTrooper that comes with it isn't as bad as the POTF2 Biker Scout. :p

MTFBWY and HH!!

Jar Jar Binks

JEDIpartner

05-07-2002, 11:35 PM

The actors who played the Tonnika sisters should go ahead and let Hasbro make the figures. Seriously, what have they actually done in their lives to get them a bigger buck? Silly beeeeeeyatches.

Wolfwood319

05-07-2002, 11:40 PM

Doesn't Lucasfilm own the likeness rights? How could "extras" have any rights? That doesn't make any sense?

I do like the Clonetrooper with Gunship accesory though. I think that's a good idea, especially if they do it with more different figures.

I think I'll only get the Mantiss cantina set, unless the other figures are leaps and bounds over their POTF2 counterparts.

BTW, nice avatar JEDIpartnr.;)

Battle Droid

05-07-2002, 11:59 PM

It would seem like the Clone Trooper Pilot with Gun Pod would be a Deluxe fig , or it'd just be a basic fig with a HUGE card buddle one.

LTBasker

05-08-2002, 12:16 AM

No removeable helmet?!?!?!?!?!?! Fine...forget about it. Not having a removeable helmet defeats the whole purpose of the figure. :cry:

I don't really care about the Tonnika sisters, they would be interesting background fillers, but they're just background humans, bring on the funky aliens!

One Jedi Council set? So we're only getting 3 figures? I'm guessing we'd get Mace, and 2 others, probably 2 we already got just re-done or 2 simpler ones like Depa and Yaddle. While they would be cool, I want Eeth (E1), Oppo, and Yareal. Or they could just resculpt the 6 E1 Jedi we've already gotten along with the other Jedi we haven't gotten and make it a series of 5 sets. The fifth would be the 3 members from E2, Shaak Ti and that other dude plus an E2 Yoda.

CooLJoE

05-08-2002, 12:24 AM

I'm really happy about the Stormtrooper 4-pack being $20 for non-members :). I'm not a member and I LOVE stormtroopers.

Also the news about dooku and yoda being shipped for a longer amount of time is great. Although many said dooku was gonna be like maul, now we know yoda will be too.

With the magnet being removed from HD Anakin, he'll become more valuable. So really I hope they leave the magnet idea alone. Maybe use stronger ones, but don't remove the idea.

Also the return of some POTJ figures sounds cool. Although it sounds like they will return different from their original look (aka, jedi training outfit on qui gon jin)

I'm not sure how I feel about the figures having vehicle parts included with them. On one hand its kinda cool cuz the figures will have more accessories with them. On the other hand, to complete a vehicle you'll have to get the figures (brilliant on Hasbro's part).

All in all, I'm just looking forward to the gunship's release and the 4-pack stormtroopers.

Beast

05-08-2002, 12:26 AM

Originally posted by LTBasker
One Jedi Council set? So we're only getting 3 figures? I'm guessing we'd get Mace, and 2 others, probably 2 we already got just re-done or 2 simpler ones like Depa and Yaddle. While they would be cool, I want Eeth (E1), Oppo, and Yareal. Or they could just resculpt the 6 E1 Jedi we've already gotten along with the other Jedi we haven't gotten and make it a series of 5 sets. The fifth would be the 3 members from E2, Shaak Ti and that other dude plus an E2 Yoda.
Basker, most likely the set will be charecters that wouldn't fit well on the card. Most likely Yareal Poof, Oppo Rancisis, and probably Mace or Yoda to have a main charecter in the set. Though they could have no main charecters, like the Jabba's Guards set. I am hoping for Yaddle, but Even Piell would be ok, also. :)

MTFBWY and HH!!

Jar Jar Binks

LTBasker

05-08-2002, 12:27 AM

On the "changing" army-builders thing, I wonder if this means they'll be going retro and release a black Bespin Guard like Kenner did in the vintage line. Maybe that also means they'll be doing Ewok variants?

Battle Droid

05-08-2002, 12:28 AM

I love the idea of figures coming with vehicle parts, though it'd suck if you couldn't find the figures to finish the vehicle.

Battle Droid

05-08-2002, 12:45 AM

I also hope they make another Clone Trooper that comes with the Gunship Medic Droid.

The Clone Trooper could be an injured Clone Trooper, for the Droid to Fix up. (he could come with removable armor & helmet)

mark2d2

05-08-2002, 01:09 AM

There is a Headline that mentions redeco'd droids but then no further info was given. Or did I just miss something.

Dexter

05-08-2002, 01:19 AM

Mark--He was talking about the Battle Droids. Ick.

Don't worry, I don't consider them true droids either. :D

bigbarada

05-08-2002, 01:21 AM

Forget about the Endor in Biker Scout disguise now, they've defeated the whole purpose of the figure!:mad: 'Good riddance' and 'glad you're losing.'

I do like the idea of packing pieces of vehicles with figures, it just seems to add another level of collectibility to the line. I will most definitely be buying the Gunship now.

Tonnika Sisters? Never really wanted them anyway.

More Clonetrooper variations? Bring em on!:D:D

Battle Droid

05-08-2002, 01:22 AM

Battle Droids are COOL! :p

Beast

05-08-2002, 01:25 AM

Originally posted by bigbarada
More Clonetrooper variations? Bring em on!:D:D
Darn right, we need a multiposable Basic CloneTrooper, a Blue CloneTrooper, and a Green CloneTrooper. Not to mention, CloneTroopers w/ removable helmets, and CloneTroopers in their little red jumpsuits. And Clone Kiddies with headsets. :D

MTFBWY and HH!!

Jar Jar Binks

bigbarada

05-08-2002, 01:31 AM

Originally posted by Battle Droid
Battle Droids are COOL! :p

Yes, they are. In fact, Battle Droids and Destroyer Droids are my favorite droid designs in the entire saga.

JJB, so how may total versions of the Cloneys will we need? I don't think I've ever seen pictures of Blue Cloneys. I'm not creating an army, more akin to a strike squad in which I want to have one or two of each color and 4-6 of the standard white Cloneys. That's all I will need.

Beast

05-08-2002, 01:40 AM

Originally posted by bigbarada
JJB, so how may total versions of the Cloneys will we need? I don't think I've ever seen pictures of Blue Cloneys. I'm not creating an army, more akin to a strike squad in which I want to have one or two of each color and 4-6 of the standard white Cloneys. That's all I will need.
Here is images from a couple pictures that I have that show the Yellow, Green, and Blue troopers. Note that the Blue troopers don't appear to have a fin ontop of their helmets. Not sure what Green and Blue are, since Yellow seem to be confirmed as Pilots, I am gonna stick with Blue being Medics. :)

MTFBWY and HH!!

Jar Jar Binks

Battle Droid

05-08-2002, 01:49 AM

That one looks Orange. Hhhmmm.

bigbarada

05-08-2002, 01:56 AM

Cool, thanks, JJB! I was thinking about it and if Hasbro does make a "casual wear" Clonetrooper then the young Clone with the headset should be the pack in. Just seems to make sense.

Either that or pack the young Clone with the learning console and have them snap together with other consoles so people can recreate the "schoolhouse" scene.

Beast

05-08-2002, 02:01 AM

Originally posted by Battle Droid
That one looks Orange. Hhhmmm.
Orange? Which one? Me thinks you may want to fiddle with your color settings on your moniter just a tad, Battle Droid.

Good idea for the Clone Kiddies, BigB. I like the idea of them being packed with snap together teaching consoles. :)

MTFBWY and HH!!

Jar Jar Binks

CooLJoE

05-08-2002, 03:14 AM

TROOPERS RULE!!!

And so do Droidekas (Destroyer Droids)! Those are my favorite attack droids.

Rogue II

05-08-2002, 08:48 AM

I hope Hasbro goes through with making the new heads for the Rebel Troopers and Imperial Officers. I am a little dissapointed about them never going to make the Tonnika Sisters, but, well I'm already over it.

Also, for those cantina sets, the figures will be partial resculpts? Did I read that right?

I wonder if they will do any more OT Cinema Scenes. Like if ole General Riekkan wins the fan choice, they could make the Emperor with 2 Digs.

DarthMaulSithLord

05-08-2002, 10:15 AM

I love that Clone Trooper idea! Hope they release (and clearance) the Gunships here so i can get two of them! Man, this is so sweet!

Btw, did you guys hear about the features of the Gunship? I read on Walmart.com that it will have holes in the hull and on the tips of the cannon so you can insert blast effects into them. How neat is that!

:D

Dryanta

05-08-2002, 10:24 AM

I like the idea of troopers with gun pods.If they sre the standard price it'll be abetter deal then it would be if the Gunship had the pods with it.They'd mark up the ships price by $10 and we'd still need to spend another $12 on the figs(if not more!!).Just a thought.
I also read some where once upon a time that Luscas film owns the characters but not the actors likenesses.Everything from the toys to depictions in illustrations has to be approved by the actor.
I think it all had to do with Sabatian Shaw(ANAKIN ROTJ) having died soon after the filming of his scene and his family had to approve his likeness.I also think Harrison Ford made a comment about it once as well.Hope it helps.
I like the idea of more Clone troopers.I'm also glad that the the troop builder set is $20.
I just hope these aren't just more half cocked rumors.Those get tiring.I'll buy it completely when it shows on the main page here.Thanks for the info though!!!

pthfnder89

05-08-2002, 12:01 PM

Originally posted by Battle Droid
I also hope they make another Clone Trooper that comes with the Gunship Medic Droid.

The Clone Trooper could be an injured Clone Trooper, for the Droid to Fix up. (he could come with removable armor & helmet)

Cool idea BattleDroid. But forget the removable helmet; make it a removable HEAD! :D Let's see the Medic Droid fix *that*! ;)

It's a good point that it seems strange for them to add big parts of vehicles with figures. But personally I love the idea that the Clonetrooper pilots will come with the gunpods.

As JarJarBinks said, is anyone here going to buy the Gunship but NOT buy the Pilot Clones anyway? I certainly will. So it really makes good sense to me.

Beside which, I'm willing to bet that the Pilot Clones will have to have special articulation in order to fit in the small gunpods anyway. If that's true then even if they came with the ship, you would still have to fork over $6.00 to get the pilot Clone just to use them.

LTBasker

05-08-2002, 04:36 PM

I dunno, the gunpods on the wings are quite out of scale, that'd be about the size the other gunpods would be for "accuracy" in the scale of the ship, so unless you shrunk a clone, you wouldn't be getting them in there anytime soon, it looks like you'd have to cut them at chest point to get them in there.

The Toy Fair Gunship proto didn't appear to have any place to put the gunpods, I wonder if maybe the pods were a change on Lucas' part and the proto Gunship shown at Toy Fair was an earlier version of what the Gunships were supposed to be like (only pods on the wings) and so instead of putting in more and having to raise the price on the Gunship (and getting alot of bad reaction from that) they're just gonna tool that section and that's why the Clone Troopers will come with the pods...

Darth Ovori

05-08-2002, 05:23 PM

Thier making a Ayla Secura figure, that is more than enough for me!!! Cannot wait for this a**-kicking babe... ;)

Very upset about the fact the gun pods have to be brought with the clone figures... that sucks...

PS... My source has informed me that thiers only 4 colours of the clones... Green, Red, yellow and the simple white... Watch out for colour refelctions... as pointed already, the yellow looks orange on some pictures... So I don't think there's gonna be a medic clone... That means that all the clones would be medics qualified seeing thier all clones... ;)

Agreed, very stupid if the scout trooper's helmet was not removable...

Jedi Councell, please make it a set of 10 figures...

SPeederbike, they would stupid to use the POTF2 version, seeing that it was from the original tooling of 1983...

Thanx for the info Battledroid...

mylow thehutt

05-08-2002, 05:24 PM

a fold up Droidedeka is on my list.

mylow thehutt

05-08-2002, 06:04 PM

love the ideas,but not to thrilled on Acaly's kicking action,can't wait for the new R2.

LTBasker

05-08-2002, 06:09 PM

Originally posted by Darth Ovori
PS... My source has informed me that thiers only 4 colours of the clones... Green, Red, yellow and the simple white... Watch out for colour refelctions... as pointed already, the yellow looks orange on some pictures... So I don't think there's gonna be a medic clone... That means that all the clones would be medics qualified seeing thier all clones... ;)

Actually there is Green, Red, Yellow, White and Blue. Light reflections couldn't make any differences because they are all from the same group of pictures. Also the blue one clearly has no fin on it's helmet which would make sense that it's a different color trooper.

Darth Ovori

05-08-2002, 09:16 PM

That picture is way to blurry to judge if it has a fin or not... And see how the white differs in each pic from shadows and light reflection...

I thought GL has already said that all Clone troopers have that fin to represent the Kamino style...

LTBasker

05-09-2002, 02:59 AM

Here are bigger versions of those pictures plus the color Clone's are pictured at the bottom in their own little pieces plus there is an enlarged pic of the blue helmeted Clone with a plain Clone in the same area and you can clearly see that the fin is not on the blue Clone's helmet.

All of those pics are from the exact same scene in the exact same area. The lighting differences are appearant and from those pictures obviously have no effect on the other colors which clearly shows that there are all 5 different Clone colors - White, Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green.

bigbarada

05-09-2002, 03:05 AM

Any clue as to what the different colors mean?

mylow thehutt

05-09-2002, 08:17 AM

green may be a tropper in traing,and blue may work with the computers or mech

Darth Ovori

05-09-2002, 08:52 AM

I guess it's one of those answers we will have to wait till May 16th ... ;)

aikman

05-09-2002, 03:33 PM

$ 20 for the troop builder pack is a joke.
They should be much cheaper than that.
Some people are happy (the ones that couldnt get comtech troopes before) and thats fine but they are charging basically full retail for 4 of the same figure in a generic white box.